Diggle's Diaries
by A. Thena Agron
Summary: A collection (that's the plan) of episode tags from the point of view of "black driver" John Diggle. He'll mostly be interacting with either Oliver or Felicity, depending on who needs the gift of his wisdom.
1. Puppy dog eyes and a sob story

**TITLE:** Puppy dog eyes and a sob story

**CHARACTERS:** Oliver Queen, John Diggle (Felicity Smoak and Barry Allen mentioned)

**SPOILERS/WARNINGS:** Up to Episode 8 of Season 2.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** There aren't enough Diggle and Oliver moments on the show. So I made up one. This is a tag to Season 2 Episode 8, "The Scientist." Please be kind; this is my first attempt at an "Arrow" fic.

**DISCLAIMER:** Oliver Queen and company belong to DC Comics. I'm just having a little fun with them.

* * *

John Diggle noted the absence of Oliver Queen's executive assistant at her desk as he strolled toward the glass-fronted office.

"Felicity still out for lunch?"

Oliver tossed the papers he'd been reading onto his desk. "I don't know about lunch, but she's definitely out." With a grimace, he added, "Probably with Mr. Barry Allen."

"Huh?" Diggle unbuttoned his suit jacket before settling in a chair midway betwen the glass doors and Oliver. He wasn't really expecting trouble — though working security for Oliver Queen you never know — but he was supposed to be protecting the CEO of Queen Consolidated, even if said chief executive is an ass-kicking, bow-wielding vigilante at night. It was good to keep up appearances. "I take it the revelation of the kid's less-than-honest claims didn't produce the desired effect?"

Oliver's response was a grunt, so Diggle tried again. "What happened?"

"Puppy dog eyes and a sob story happened."

Diggle let out a chuckle before he noticed the pained look on Oliver's face. He coughed to cover the laugh. "Uhm, what?"

Oliver sighed. "His father really is in prison for his mother's murder. But Allen claims he's not the killer. That it was somebody else, a person inside a blur that did it. No one believed him, of course. He was young." Oliver rolled his eyes. "Well, younger."

Diggle groaned. "Person in a blur? That's even weirder than our vampire who likes sugar." He frowned. "And his interest in our case?"

"He's been obsessed with unexplained phenomena ever since."

Diggle nodded. He could easily imagine how something as traumatic as the death of a parent could traumatize a child and set him on an unusual path. He was, after all, working with the Arrow.

"And Felicity?"

Myriad emotions crossed Oliver's face. Diggle thought he saw confusion and hurt on there. Which didn't really make much sense. Or maybe it did. Something's been going on between Oliver and his Girl Friday since their trip to Russia. He'd been a little distracted at that time, given that they were trying to break out his ex-wife Lyla from a Russian gulag. But he had noticed a slight change in the interaction between the two over the last several weeks. It had seemed slightly stilted, a little bit more formal than usual.

"Oliver, how did Felicity react?"

Oliver sighed. "She basically said we did the same thing every day."

"Did what?"

"Lie."

"Ahhhh."

Oliver suddenly stood up, almost toppling his chair. Diggle's eyebrows shot up in surprise. They would have climbed higher if possible when Oliver began pacing. Oliver did not pace. Diggle had long ago realized that when Oliver was furious or worried he does a wonderful impersonation of a statue. As if being physically still was his way of controlling his errant emotions.

But Oliver was pacing now.

"And he did lie!"

If it were anyone else, Diggle would have sworn he heard a plaintive note in the emphatic declaration. Maybe even a dash of defensiveness.

"Our Miss Smoak didn't take it that way, did she?"

Oliver shook his head and turned toward Diggle. The look he gave him resembled that of a lost little boy. "I just wanted to make sure he could be trusted. He swoops in here, a total stranger, and suddenly it's all smiles and giggles."

Diggle opened his mouth to respond, then shut it. He wasn't quite sure how to respond. He took a deep breath and tried again. "I didn't … notice … any giggles."

Oliver's glare made him put his hands up, palms spread outward. "Hey! Are you OK? You seem to be over-reacting a bit here, man. I told you when I gave you the information it didn't seem that big a deal."

Diggle stood up and crossed toward his friend and comrade.

"What's going on with you, Oliver? You've been pretty pissy with this kid. So he lied. No harm, no foul. But he has been helpful. And he IS with the police, even though he's basically a glorified intern."

In the silence, Diggle could have sworn he heard teeth grinding.

"Is this about him spending time with Felicity? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous."

Oliver's baffled reaction threw Diggle off.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course, I'm not jealous," Oliver huffed. "I just want to make sure Felicity doesn't get hurt … one way or another."

Diggle searched Oliver's face. Maybe the younger man was jealous of the whiz kid from Central City, maybe he wasn't. Who knew? Oliver apparently didn't. And Diggle had the feeling Oliver was fighting really hard not to acknowledge any feelings he might have for their blonde cohort.

"OK," he said quietly. "I'll keep an eye on Felicity … and Barry."

Oliver nodded his thanks.

As he headed out of the office, Diggle decided to give his friend a little bit of a nudge, "You better come up with a way to make amends, if Felicity is as pissed off as I think she is. I'm not looking forward to awkward moments in our basement office. And since you're NOT jealous at all, maybe you can make sure a certain assistant CSI gets an invite to your party. I know someone who has a lovely gown she's looking forward to wearing."

**The end**


	2. Apologies needed

**TITLE:** Apologies needed

**CHARACTERS:** Oliver Queen, John Diggle (Felicity Smoak and Barry Allen mentioned)

**SPOILERS/WARNINGS:** Up to Episode 9 of Season 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** A tag to "Three Ghosts."

**DISCLAIMER:** Oliver Queen and company belong to DC Comics.

* * *

The car stopped at a red light and John Diggle spared his passenger a glance. Oliver Queen had been very quiet since they left the foundry, looking very preoccupied. Probably with thoughts of his near-death experience, Diggle mused. Almost dying would do that to any man. Even one who puts himself in danger on an almost nightly basis. Maybe he's thinking about the man who beat him, the one who apparently has muscles like concrete. How do you defeat such a monster? Oliver had already faced a similar problem last year with the Dark Archer. Diggle remembered his crisis of confidence during that time. It took a few weeks for Oliver to shake off the defeat. Diggle hoped he wasn't brooding over this recent smackdown.

"How big of a jerk was I to Felicity?"

Diggle looked at Oliver sideways and shook his head slightly. He got the brooding right, just not the subject. Apparently, he would never truly understand what goes on in the younger man's head. "Massive," he said dryly as he put the car in drive when the light turned green. "Why did you react like that, man? Felicity's decision to bring Barry in saved your life."

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face. "What happened exactly? All I remember is getting punched, kicked and flung like a doll by that, that … person. I fought back but my blows, they didn't seem to have any impact."

"We heard the fight on the comms and rushed inside. You were lying on top of medical supplies with a couple of syringes stuck to your leg. We had no idea what was in them. Felicity couldn't hack the Argus database."

"Couldn't hack?" There was incredulity in Oliver's voice.

You were injured, possibly dying, none of us could think straight, you dolt, Diggle thought. Out loud he said, "Things got a bit chaotic in that warehouse."

"Was Barry there?"

Diggle did a double-take. "What?! No! I had to tranq him and grab him at the train station. Oliver! You know he left for Central City before we went to the warehouse."

Oliver had the grace to look chagrined. "I don't know. He looked a bit keen … on Felicity. He could have followed us there."

Diggle waited until they stopped at the next light before fixing Oliver a stare. The younger man struggled not to squirm. "If you haven't noticed, or maybe you have, Felicity is kinda keen on him as well." Diggle frowned. "Is that why you went nuts that Felicity told him?"

"She seemed to trust him too quickly."

Diggle checked the light and pressed the gas. "Well, Barry is keen on you, too, so I don't think the kid's going to talk." He nodded. "Yup, your number two fan. Roy being number one, although that may have changed in light of that arrow you put in his leg."

"So you agree with Felicity." It was a statement, not a question from Oliver.

"Absolutely. She saved your life, and only one other person knows your alter ego." Diggle cleared his throat. "Full disclosure? I wanted to call 911. Felicity stopped me." At Oliver's surprised look, he continued, "Look, man, for gunshot wounds, knife wounds, I'm your guy. I can fix what I can see. But Barry figured out what was wrong with you in a flash. I wouldn't have been able to do that."

"So, yeah, thanks are in order. You're alive because Felicity made the all the right calls. If it weren't for her and Barry, you wouldn't be sitting in this car with me."

They reached the motel where Cyrus Gold was last seen. Diggle parked the car and got out for his recon mission, teasing Oliver about a crossword puzzle in his glove box for if he got bored. Not that the boy would need it. Diggle was pretty sure his thoughts were going to be filled with the actions of a feisty blonde IT girl who wouldn't back down against a furious vigilante - and a dorky CSI assistant who found the courage to challenge his hero.

**The end**


	3. Green-eyed monster

**TITLE:** Green-eyed monster

**CHARACTERS:** Felicity Smoak, John Diggle (Oliver Queen mentioned)

**SUMMARY:** Diggle checks on Felicity after she leaves to "get some air" after her fight with Oliver (Tag to 2x10: "Blast Radius")

**DISCLAIMER:** Oliver Queen and company belong to DC Comics.

* * *

He found her shivering inside her car in the parking lot, staring moodily at the pulsating green light from Verdant. He knocked gently on the Mini Cooper's window so as not to startle her, and showed her the items in his hands when she looked up.

"Thought you might need this," Diggle said as Felicity got out. He placed two mugs on the hood of the car before helping her into her coat, hiding his smile when her teeth chattered as she offered her thanks. Since she apparently chose to freeze rather than return to the warmth and comfort of the Arrowcave, Diggle decided not to mention that it was Oliver who silently handed him the coat on his way out. The waves of anger and hurt radiating from Felicity were palpable.

He waited until she finished buttoning up the light wool coat before handing her a mug. "It's chamomile. Figured you didn't need more caffeine."

Felicity's head snapped up. "I'm not the one who needs calming down," she said heatedly, her voice rising. "It's him down in the basement."

"Stupid, arrogant, idiotic, condescending, stubborn jerk. Trying to make me feel guilty for not being here when an explosion goes off. Next time I take some time off I'm gonna tweet the criminals of Starling City and ask them to postpone their activities until I get back. Also, you know what sane people do when they hear about explosions? They head the other way. Me? I hear about buildings blowing up and what do I do? I take the first train back to where things are going kaboom! Because I've completely recovered from having a building fall around me."

Felicity took a gulp from her mug and Diggle thought she was done. Apparently, she was only getting started. "What was that crack about getting back in the game? It's not like I abandoned the mission altogether. I had my tablet with me the whole time! Wasn't I feeding you information, tracking low-level criminals who might have seen that monster in a skull mask? It's not my fault that guy all but disappeared. Is he blaming me for that, too?

"And how dare he bring Barry into this now. When I asked if he could spare me weeks ago, he said and I quote, 'Absolutely. Stay as long as you want.' Besides, he owes me weeks of vacation time. It's not like any of us have taken time off from either of our jobs. The closest I've come to going on a vacation was that trip to Russia. And that was no fun at all!"

Felicity took a deep breath and there was a plaintive note in her voice when she spoke again. "Is it so wrong to want to be there for a friend? To want to make sure he sees a familiar face when he wakes up. I know we'd just met," she said softly, turning moist eyes toward Diggle. "But I like him. He was very sweet. And I owed him."

Diggle let out a heavy sigh. Of course Oliver brought Barry into the conversation. From Diggle's point of view, Barry was the reason Oliver has been so grouchy lately. But he wasn't going to tell Felicity that.

Oliver and Felicity's relationship was changing, had been changing for awhile now. Into what? He thought he had a pretty good idea. He was serious when he said he didn't think Oliver had a problem with Felicity's work until the young CSI assistant from Central City showed up.

He wondered if they've noticed how much they've been fighting lately, as if they could hide all those swirling emotions behind the loud words. He wondered, too, if they've noticed how they watched each other all the time, when they thought the other wasn't looking.

Diggle had noticed.

And the past five weeks had opened up Diggle's eyes just a little bit more. He couldn't miss Oliver staring at Felicity's empty desk, as if willing his executive assistant into showing up. And he definitely noticed Oliver stopping himself several times a day from calling out her name, forgetting she was not in town.

He had a feeling it would only confuse the situation more to mention all that to Felicity.

Diggle blew out a breath. "That wasn't your fault, what happened back there. Oliver was totally out of line."

"Why do I sense a but coming."

He cleared his throat, wondering how to phrase his thoughts. "He is going through some changes right now … realizing stuff. He needs to figure out exactly what he wants to do."

Felicity frowned. "You mean with the Mirakuru problem."

"That's part of it," he nodded. "His past is catching up with his present and he may need to make a choice soon." He looped an arm around her shoulders and drew her to his side. "He missed you. I missed you. Not just because we have no idea how to make those computers do your magic. The Arrowcave is not a fun place without you. More grunts, fewer grins."

Felicity nodded then stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Thanks for listening to me rant, John."

"Anytime. And Felicity, when Oliver comes to apologize. Make him grovel. Just a little."

**The end**


End file.
